Excited to show you all this quick and easy half-up top knot hair tutorial! When I cut my hair into a lob, I ended up losing the ability to throw it all up into a top knot and missed it so much — so, I did my best to perfect the half-up top knot instead! Now that my hair is long once again, I still love this look, and ended up wearing it this way when I was maid-of-honor in my best friend’s wedding back in September! Here’s are the step by step instructions (and the video to follow along). For me, this style works best on either second or third day hair! I love to wear this style right before I wash my hair (as I normally try to limit product in my hair).

HALF-UP TOP KNOT: STEP BY STEP

I start off by spraying a little of this dry shampoo powder onto my roots for a little grit. When my hair is too silky or too clean, it doesn’t give the bun the same effect, so I make sure to dust a little of this powder to help the hair stick together. I then work it into my roots and throughout my hairline.

Leaving my hair in its original part (this is important), I gather the top part of my hair and pull it back to the top of my head. Think of this area as a “halo” — I don’t draw a straight line all the way back, and instead, curve the line to gather more hair for the bun. Keeping the original part gives the look a messier vibe and allows pieces to be pulled out later to frame the face.

I then secure that chunk of hair with a hair elastic at the top of my head.

To help give that pony tail a little bit more texture, I spray dry texturizing spray and work it in by backcombing from the ends to the roots with this brush. This helps give the pony tail as much volume as possible, as this is the chunk of hair will be used for the bun.

I take the pony tail and fold it over itself to create a messy bun, and using another hair elastic, I secure it in place by wrapping it around the hair twice. I’ll then twist the bun around until it starts to fall naturally (pieces will fall out at this time).

Using a few bobby pins (between 3 and 4 usually), I’ll secure some of those fallen pieces by pulling them back into the bun. This is total trial and error. Sometimes, I’ll need to repeat steps 5 and 6 a few different times before I get the perfect look. Don’t get frustrated, just try again until you’re happy!

I then spray a little thermal dry conditioner onto the bottom of my hair. I always apply a heat protector to my hair when I blowdry and style originally, but since I’m going to apply heat to a few more random pieces, it’s important to protect once again!

Using the GHD Classic Styler (a 1 inch straightener), I’ll add random sections of hair between the plates, twist it counter-clockwise, and slide it down the hair. This helps achieve a messy look so none of the pieces are perfect (or barrel waved). If you want a more uniform curl, you can use a wand so the pieces all look the same.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Leave a comment below if you plan to give it a try and make sure to tag me @OhSoGlamBlog on Instagram so I can see your look!